Crunch raises state school demand

BlondeHeadOn

From here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7790161.stm

"One in 10 English councils is seeing increased demand for school places as parents switch from private to state to save money, a report suggests.
The Audit Commission's report into the effect of the credit crunch on councils showed an increasing demand for their services as well as a drop in income. "

and

"The largest concern reported by councils was the reduced income from planning fees due to the housing slump, with almost half recording substantial falls.

The survey found 52% of authorities had suffered a fall in income from car parking fees of 3% or more, as more people leave their car at home. One had seen a fall of 5%, with a fall in income of £200,000.
The research - Crunch Time? - also showed councils had been hit hard by increases in fuel bills, with the cost of lighting the streets up 40% in a year. The report found the higher demand for state school places for children was a particular problem in London, and a fifth of all those councils questioned expected that trend to accelerate as the downturn deepened. "

Davesnave

Oh well, if they can't find enough teachers, I might be tempted back......
(Goes off into reverie parodying those old war films where some middle-aged types are recruited for one more special mission.)

'OK Henderson, how's your SATS preparation these days?'

'Bit rusty sir....err..Oh yes, test the little beggars 5 times a week until they lose consciousness, or the will to learn, whichever comes first.'

'Excellent! Fforbes-Smythe, You still up on Latin?'

'Amo. amas. amat, amamus, amatis, am.... am.....am a bit rusty, sir, but I'm sure I can still deliver a fatal dose of declension, right where it hurts most.'

'Sure you can! That's the spirit!..Now where's Digby? Ah, there you are, you old rascal; smoking in the caretaker's room among all those dangerous chemicals. You always were a one to take the...'

'Cough, cough....I'll be with you in a minute Headmaster, just putting on my rugger boots.'

'Oh, er, don't worry about that, Digby old son, it won't be necessary. I've errr... appointed Smithers to do the games.'

'But, but....Smithers is a.......a woman sir! I mean, no disrespect, but how can she go down when we get into a ruck......?

On second thoughts, perhaps I'd better stick to gardening and making the odd rude comment on here!

baby_boomer

The crunch will hit councils most when they have to fulfil their obligations to house people - in social housing which doesn't exist.

The education obligation is chicken feed by comparison.

silvercar

baby_boomer wrote: »

The crunch will hit councils most when they have to fulfil their obligations to house people - in social housing which doesn't exist.

The education obligation is chicken feed by comparison.

I'm sure there are plenty of BTL investors out there, happy to let to the council.;)

The education obligation may be smaller, but if there are no school places around the council has a problem, they can hardly look to the private sector.

treliac

The whole nature and construction of society looks threatened by the current economic climate.

I think we will be looking at a very different structure, vis a vis lifestyles, habits and behaviour, etc., in the future.

StevieJ

treliac wrote: »

The whole nature and construction of society looks threatened by the current economic climate.

I think we will be looking at a very different structure, vis a vis lifestyles, habits and behaviour, etc., in the future.

Or maybe we have forgotten ( or due to age, never known) how bad a normal recession is :eek:

lady_lucan

A number of private schools in my area have been converted to state academies in recent times, and this trend looks set to continue.

Don't forget, there are not currently enough state school places to educate school age children, so a major reshuffle would have to occur if substantial numbers of private school parents' cheques bounce.

And of course, private school is no longer any guarantee of an 'old-school-tie' route through life, particularly with SEN/EBD statement figures growing year on year. Recent 'gap year' figures for Sixth Form leavers at the school I last taught at are very revealing

olly300

StevieJ wrote: »

Or maybe we have forgotten ( or due to age, never known) how bad a normal recession is :eek:

Agreed.

Last recession I was being educated with 30%-40% of people who had been previously educated in the private sector.

So every recession people work out how bad the state sector in their area really is and act accordingly. (And no I didn't go to a grammar school I went to a selective comp and then a further education college. )

Also people in the past few years were actually realising they couldn't afford private school fees so where moving house to the right areas anyway.

amcluesent

Would love to be there when Tarquin and Jocasta meet Wayne and Chardonay on their first day in one of Labour's "bog-standard" comprehensives build to manage the dregs of the sink-estate.

Someone will be going home to Mummy without their front teeth, money, mobi, pencil-case, satchel, shoes and a nasty rash from a day of wedgies....

lady_lucan

Wayne and Tarquin have already been privately schooled together in recent years, due to the huge amount of disposable income pre-credit crunch progeny of 'Loadsamoney' types have had to throw around. The really canny not-so-nouveau-riche have long been fighting tooth and nail to get their offspring into the best state school available.

itsgototstop

amcluesent wrote: »

Would love to be there when Tarquin and Jocasta meet Wayne and Chardonay on their first day in one of Labour's "bog-standard" comprehensives build to manage the dregs of the sink-estate.

Someone will be going home to Mummy without their front teeth, money, mobi, pencil-case, satchel, shoes....

Whilst agree with logic behind it, celebrating kids being beaten up doesn't fill me with glee, their parents folly might mean misery for them but to laugh about it I think a tad urgh